Catholic Baptism

From LoveToKnow Baby

Catholic baptism is often referred to as the first of the seven sacraments. This sacrament initiates a person's membership into the Catholic faith and makes him or her a member of the church.

A Catholic Baptism has origins steeped in history.

History of Catholic Baptism

In the year 416, the Roman Empire made infant baptism compulsory. For centuries Roman Catholic tradition taught that if a baby died without being baptized they would go to a place called limbo. However, in April of 2007, Pope Benedict reversed this teaching on limbo. He also declared that the church would not revert to St. Augustine's teaching that infants who die without being baptized go to hell. Instead the Pope created a new doctrine: infants go to heaven baptized or not.

Godparents

The rite of Catholic baptism is more than a celebration and big party with cakes and party favors. In the Catholic tradition, baptism takes away sins and makes the child one of God's children and a member of the Catholic Church.

In preparation for the baptism service, Catholic parents take classes and select sponsors known as godparents. During the rite of baptism, godparents take part in the ceremony by holding the child and making promises for the child's spiritual growth.

Godparents are expected to watch over the child's religious well-being and development throughout life. With that in mind, when selecting godparents for your child it is wise to choose a person of:

Deep faith
Prayer
Spirituality
An active Catholic

Traditional Dress

Babies traditionally wear decorative white christening gowns. Many times, christening outfits are passed down from one generation to the next.

The Rite of Baptism

The rite of Catholic Baptism can be broken into four stages, with each taking place in different parts of the church. Each stage symbolizes a part of the process of the child's initiation into the Church.

**Catholic Baptism**
Where	What	How or Why
In the Entry Way of the Church Building	The Questioning	The questioning takes place outside the church symbolizing that the child is not yet a member of the church.
Entry Way	The Exsufflation	The priest breathes into the child's face three times recalling the Spirit breath of God.
Entry Way	The Sign of the Cross	Priest traces the Sign of the Cross with his thumb on the baby's forehead and chest.
Entry Way	The Imposition of Hands	Priest places hands on the baby's head and prays for the kindling of faith
Entry Way	The Imposition of Salt	Priest places a few grains of salt in the baby's mouth as a symbol of wisdom.
Admission into the Church Building	The Exorcism	The priest makes the Sign of the Cross over the child three times and prays for the exorcise of the unclean spirit in the name of the Trinity.
Admission	The Sign of the Cross	This time the priest traces the Sign of the Cross on the candidate's forehead as a symbol of protection of the mind from the devil's violation.
Admission	The Imposition of Hands	Again, the priest lays his hands on the child's head
Admission	Admission into the Church Building	Priest places end of his stole on the baby symbolizing his priestly authority, and admits the baby into the church building.
In the Nave	The Solemn Exorcism	Now inside the church, the priest once again prays for the exorcise of unclean spirits
In the Nave	The Ephpheta	Traditionally, the priest takes spittle on his finger and touches the ears and nostrils of the baby, but today for health reasons this step which comes from Mark 7:33-35 may be omitted.
In the Nave	The Renunciation of Satan	Godparents take an oath renouncing Satan for the child
In the Nave	The Annointing	Priest anoints the baby with oil on the heart and between the shoulders tracing a small cross. This represents the oil of salvation in Jesus Christ.
At the Font	The Profession of Faith	The priest replaces his violet stole with a white one.
At the Font	Baptism	Godparents carry the baby to the font together, but the godmother holds the baby while the godfather places his right hand on the baby's shoulder. The priest pours consecrated water three times over the baby's head, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
At the Font	The Annointing with Chrism	Anointing with a consecrated oil
At the Font	The White Linen Cloth	A white linen cloth which symbolizes purity of the baby's cleansed soul is placed on the child's head.
At the Font	The Lighted Candle	The priest gives the godparents a lighted candle.
At the Font	Last Words of Good Will

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Comments

At what age should a baby be baptized and why?

-- Contributed by: barbara

The introduction to this article is wrought with error. A- the Church never officially taught that the unbaptised went to limbo. B- Pope Benedict XVI did NOT state that all babies go to heaven. The Church is (and always has) taught that we on Earth simply do not know where the unbaptised go and for that reason should always err on the side of caution and baptise our babies as soon as possible.

-- Contributed by: De Profundis

The Baptism of babies is not found in the Bible. This is a catholic tradition made by men. All babies will go to heaven because they are sinless. I would suggest that the Cathoicks would just read the bible.

-- Contributed by: scott

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